Page 5 of Hard Rock Sin

"Surprise," I cheered, before he could shrug me off, thinking I was a stranger.

He turned, his face wide open with shock.

"Lily? What are you doing here?"

"Since I got accepted into the summer program I decided to come home early."

"But you're not supposed to—"

"Shut up and give me a hug."

He paused, scowling for a brief moment, before the lines on his face relaxed. He wrapped his arms around me, squeezing tight.

"You're not supposed to be here for another few weeks. I thought you were still at that artists' retreat."

"I couldn't wait that long."

I didn't want to wait and risk him changing his mind.

"I'm still not sure if this is a good idea," he began, like I knew he would.

I smiled to myself. Always so overprotective.

"I'll be fine," I reassured him.

Noah pulled back and took a good look at me. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"There's nothing wrong with what I'm wearing."

So what if the dress was a little short?

"You look like—"

"It's nothing worse than what the other girls at this concert have on," I pointed out, cutting him off.

He grunted, but didn't continue arguing. A small smile graced his lips as he stroked my hair. "I'm really glad you're here. I missed you."

A sting of tears hit the back of my eyes. "I missed you, too."

"I want to hear about everything. The artists' retreat and your summer course."

"The retreat was…" I searched for the right words. "Interesting. The other women there were very much the hippie, Bohemian artist types."

"I hope you didn't feel out of place."

"It was kind of fun actually. Like having a bunch of cool older aunts."

Noah and I both went silent for a moment. We were no doubt both thinking the same thing. We didn't have aunts, or uncles, or any other family that we knew of. It was just the two of us. It had always just been the two of us.

"I'm sure I'll have a lot more in common with the students at college," I continued. "They'll be around my own age, at least."

"And you're absolutely sure you don't want to go to college in London? It's not too late to change your mind."

"I'm sure. It's been long enough. It's well past time for me to come back home."

"It's even worse than last time," Noah warned. "The band is more popular than ever. There's media following our every move, and crazy fans. Not to mention, you're an internet celebrity now. After that stunt you pulled, everyone knows you're here."

Ever since I'd gone on a social media spree, posting selfies and updating the world on my whereabouts, my brother hadn't stopped lecturing me.